KU community mourns death of longtime Kansas Biological Survey director Ed Martinko

The University of Kansas is mourning the death of Ed Martinko, longtime director of the Kansas Biological Survey, Professor Emeritus of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and a former faculty member in KU’s Environmental Studies Program. He was a Lawrence resident and retired from KU in 2019. He died Sept. 16.

“When Ed became the director in 1983, the Biological Survey was a relatively unobtrusive research unit focused on a 70-year tradition of documenting the biota of Kansas,” said Craig Freeman, senior scientist at the Kansas Biological Survey and senior curator at KU’s R.L. McGregor Herbarium. Freeman served as interim co-director of the Biological Survey during a three-year period when Martinko was on leave to work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and as interim director just after Martinko’s retirement. 

“Ed recognized the Survey’s untapped potential, and that by engaging in conservation and resource management issues important in Kansas and the Great Plains, by building on the Survey’s historic strengths, and by taking advantage of emerging opportunities, he could expand the unit’s impact, influence and reach,” Freeman said. “He worked tirelessly to provide the resources to support a world-class research facility and to foster growth of a collegial community of researchers devoted to advancing environmental science and helping others understand why what we do matters.”

Martinko, a native of Colorado Springs, Colo., earned a doctoral degree from KU in ecology, focusing on entomology, in 1976. Prior to that, he earned a master’s degree from the University of Colorado and a bachelor’s degree from the College of Emporia (a private college in Emporia, Kansas).

After graduating from KU, Martinko was a courtesy professor in the University’s entomology and geography programs and became an assistant professor in 1982. In 1983 he was named director of the Kansas Biological Survey, a position that carries the additional title of State Biologist, as the Biological Survey holds dual status as a University research center and a non-regulatory state agency.

During Martinko’s tenure, he expanded the historical emphasis of the Biological Survey beyond the flora and fauna of the state to areas of expertise in ecosystems research; aquatics research; and applications of remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) for agriculture, wildlife and natural resources management, and emergency preparedness. He worked to develop partnerships with other state agencies, as well as scientific and financial partnerships with private corporations to conduct research and commercialize new technology products, such as those relying on satellite imagery to provide information on crops, infrastructure, and species habitat.

Martinko took a three-year leave from KU from 1991 to 1994 to serve in Washington, D.C., as director of the EPA’s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program. In 1999, he became director of the KU Field Station when it was placed under the management of the Biological Survey.

During Martinko’s directorship, various programs were created at the Kansas Biological Survey or brought under its administration, including the Kansas Applied Remote Sensing Program, the Kansas Natural Heritage Inventory, surface water assessment programs and Monarch Watch. The KU Field Station grew to encompass more than 3,000 acres in three sites; the public trail system and the KU Native Medicinal Plant Research Garden were added.

Martinko had a strong interest in KU campuses and history, serving for many years on the Historic Mount Oread Friends group, the Campus Heritage Advisory Committee, and the Campus Tree Advisory Committee. He served on numerous other boards and committees, both on and off campus, including the KU Center for Research, the Kansas Water Authority, the Kansas GIS Policy Board, and the Kansas Nature Conservancy. He also served on the thesis or dissertation committees of more than 70 KU graduate students.

“Ed dedicated much of his life’s work to the University of Kansas, the Kansas Biological Survey and the State,” said Sara Baer, director of the Biological Survey and a professor of ecology & evolutionary biology. “His impact has been and continues to be far-reaching for the benefit of natural resources in Kansas.” 

Martinko’s wife, Nancy Hale-Martinko, a Lawrence native, preceded him in death in 2021. She graduated from KU in 1979 with a doctoral degree in education and was assistant superintendent of the Ottawa School District (Kansas) until her retirement in 1991. The couple married in 1977.

A service will be held in November at the KU Field Station, which is managed by the Kansas Biological Survey and was a special place to Martinko.